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History and philosophy of sciences

History and philosophy of sciences (2013-2021)

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The Chair Casterman-Hamers answers the need for a cross-disciplinary and university-wide education in History and Philosophy of Sciences by means of annual series of invited lectures.

In 2013 the scientists Cécile Casterman and Raymond Hamers initiated an academic chair to answer the need for a cross-disciplinary and university-wide education in History and Philosophy of Sciences. Cécile Casterman and Raymond Hamers are researchers who in the late 1980s persisted in investigating ongoing research on antibodies in their lab and then discovered a new class of antibodies in camelid species: the alpaca antibody.

Raymond Hamers about the Chair Casterman-Hamers - History and Philosophy of Sciences

"There is a lack in our academic curriculum about history and philosophy of sciences. Yet, this is a crucial bridge for transdisciplinary learning and mutual understanding. We wanted to do something about this since we need that historical framework when talking about science. Take the atomic theory for instance, which already existed as a conceptual concept with the Greeks, with the atom as the smallest particle of a matter. History is not about a chronological overview of events, but rather about the evolution of scientific ideas. I was fortunate to have great teachers at the ULB at the time, like Jean Brachet, the biochemist who played a crucial role in understanding the role of RNA. Or Raymond Jeener, whose courses and experiments in physics were always mixed with the philosophy of sciences. His son Jean Jeener remains associated with the Bio-NMR center of the VIB Department of Molecular and Cellular Interactions. And of course there was Lucia de Brouckère, a chemist, activist and feminist too, whose broad framework lives on in the fusion of a number of French-speaking colleges like the Haute Ecole Lucia de Brouckère. In our turn, Cécile and I wanted to enable all students and researchers to get a glimpse of the history and philosophy of sciences and a Chair seemed like a good way to start."